In a longer video clip that I watched and which showed far more than just the spray portion of the incident, the student mob that wasn't seated decided to "peacefully" surround the police. This was done through one of the mic check commands and it was bizarre how the students complied and then appeared to surround some of the officers, albeit at a stand-off distance. I think that escalated the situation and led the officers to decide to use pepper spray in order to clear the sidewalk and thus re-establish connection with the rest of their force.

As is usually the case, we are presented with only the sensational snippet of the confrontation.

One thing that keeps getting repeated by many of the talking heads that I find somewhat amusing goes something like:

"They sprayed them right in the face!"

Um, yup, that's pretty much the idea. It doesn't have quite as much effect if you spray it on their shoes.

__________________"Now, mark my words. So long as we are a young and virtuous people, this instrument will bind us together in mutual interests, mutual welfare, and mutual happiness. But when we become old and corrupt, it will bind us no longer" - Alexander Hamilton about the US Constitution.

Not to put too fine a point on it but it was National Guard that fired the shots at Kent State, not the local of state police.

The ironic part is that one of those killed was a member of the Kent State ROTC corp.

(My personal opinion that there were agent provocateurs on both sides. There was a student who was an FBI informant carrying a pistol that day. [Government agent provocateur] Almost all of the protesters believed that the National Guard had blanks in their rifles after being told by some members of the protest organizers. [Protester agent provocateur.])

At that point all it took was a match to touch it off.

I went back to the University one time to take a fun course, Cyber Warfare I think.

Anyway, most people sub 21 in the course. The topic of the Vietnam War came up.

I was surprised that they were so unknowledgable about an important event in US History. What they thought they knew they got from Apocalypse Now and Born on the 4th of July.

__________________
“The price of freedom is the willingness to do sudden battle anywhere, any time and with utter recklessness.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, The Puppet Masters

It doesn't matter, the protestors have done their job, and done it well. With the short attention span of the American public, those law enforcement officers will forever be remembered as spraying innocents with pepper spray. Forget what really happened. All that most people will remember is the evil pepper-spraying cop.